Derek Fisher (baseball)

Derek Joseph Fisher (born August 21, 1993) is an American professional baseball outfielder who is currently a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, Toronto Blue Jays and Milwaukee Brewers. He attended the University of Virginia, where he played college baseball for the Virginia Cavaliers.

Not to be confused with Derek Fisher.

Derek Fisher
Fisher with the Houston Astros
Free agent
Outfielder
Born: (1993-08-21) August 21, 1993
Lebanon, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
MLB debut
June 14, 2017, for the Houston Astros
MLB statistics
(through 2021 season)
Batting average.195
Home runs17
Runs batted in53
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Amateur career

Fisher attended Cedar Crest High School in Lebanon, Pennsylvania.[1] Playing for the school's baseball team, Fisher had a .440 batting average with nine home runs in his junior year, and was named to the all-state's first team. He also competed in national showcases. Baseball America ranked Fisher as the ninth-best high school prospect and best Pennsylvania prospect available in the 2011 Major League Baseball draft.[2] As a senior, he batted .484 with 11 home runs and 28 runs batted in (RBIs), and was named the Gatorade Player of the Year for Pennsylvania.[3] He was selected by the Texas Rangers in the sixth round of the draft,[4] but did not sign. He enrolled at the University of Virginia to play college baseball for the Virginia Cavaliers baseball team.[5][6]

As a freshman, Fisher batted .288 with seven home runs and 50 RBIs, and was named a Freshman All-American by Louisville Slugger and invited to participate in the College Home Run Derby.[5] In 2013, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Harwich Mariners of the Cape Cod Baseball League, and was named a league all-star.[7][8] Fisher was named a preseason All-American in 2014. In February 2014, he was named the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Week.[9] On March 17, 2014, Fisher had surgery to remove a hamate bone from his right wrist,[10][11][12] which caused him to miss 25 games of the 2014 season.[13]

Professional career

Houston Astros

The Houston Astros selected Fisher with the 37th overall selection in the 2014 Major League Baseball draft. He signed with the Astros, receiving a $1,534,100 signing bonus, and began his professional career with the Tri-City ValleyCats of the Class A-Short Season New York–Penn League.[14][15] He batted .303 in 41 games for Tri-City, and was assigned to the Quad Cities River Bandits of the Class A Midwest League to start the 2015 season.[16] After he hit .305 with six home runs and 24 RBIs in 39 games, the Astros promoted Fisher to the Lancaster JetHawks of the Class A-Advanced California League. Fisher hit three home runs, including two grand slams, as he recorded a California League record 12 RBIs in his first game for Lancaster.[17]

Fisher in 2016

Fisher began the 2016 season with the Corpus Christi Hooks of the Class AA Texas League.[18] After he batted .245 with 16 home runs, 23 stolen bases, and 59 RBIs in 371 at-bats for Corpus Christi, the Astros promoted Fisher to the Fresno Grizzlies of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League in August.[19] The Astros invited Fisher to spring training as a non-roster player in 2017.[20] He began the 2017 season with Fresno.[21]

The Astros promoted Fisher to the major leagues on June 14, 2017.[22] In his first game, he collected his first two hits, the first being a home run. In addition, the two hits came the same inning, making him the first player to do so since Adam LaRoche in 2004. He ended the day 2-for-3, and added two walks.[23] He collected his first career stolen base the following game at home against the Boston Red Sox.[24] The Astros optioned Fisher to the minor leagues, and he was selected to appear in the All-Star Futures Game.[25]

Fisher made the Astros' playoff roster, appearing primarily as a pinch runner. On October 30, in a game that started on October 29, he scored the game winning run in Game 5 of the 2017 World Series. The World Series would go on for 7 games, as the Astros successfully plowed through, winning the series for the first time.[26]

On March 24, 2018, the Astros announced that Fisher had made their 2018 Opening Day roster.[27] He struggled offensively and was ultimately demoted to the AAA Fresno Grizzlies, hitting .165 with four home runs, eleven RBI's, and an OPS of .602 in 42 MLB games. In 2019, Fisher appeared in only 17 games with the Astros, hitting .226 with an OPS of .675, before being traded to the Toronto Blue Jays at the July 31 trade deadline.

Toronto Blue Jays

On July 31, 2019, the Astros traded Fisher to the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for Aaron Sanchez, Joe Biagini, and Cal Stevenson.[28] He hit .161 with 6 home runs in 40 games.

Overall with the 2020 Blue Jays, Fisher batted .226 with one home run and seven RBIs in 16 games.[29] On February 11, 2021, Fisher was designated for assignment by the Blue Jays after the signing of David Phelps was made official.[30]

Milwaukee Brewers

On February 15, 2021, the Blue Jays traded Fisher to the Milwaukee Brewers for a player to be named later and cash.[31] Fisher went 2-for-8 in 4 games with Milwaukee before being designated for assignment on June 22.[32] He was outrighted to the Triple-A Nashville Sounds on June 28.[32]

Minnesota Twins

On December 16, 2021, Fisher signed a minor league contract with the Minnesota Twins.[33] He was released on June 11, 2022.

References
  1. Sam Getty photo (February 14, 2014). "All eyes on prospect Derek Fisher, Virginia baseball at the start: NCAA notebook". PennLive.com. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
  2. Gross, Mike (September 11, 2013). "Scouts' eyes are on Fisher – Sports". lancasteronline.com. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
  3. Durrett, Richard. "2011 MLB Draft – Dallas Texas Rangers Blog – ESPN Dallas". Espn.go.com. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
  4. Tesfatsion, Master. "Derek Fisher – Dallas Texas Rangers Blog – ESPN Dallas". Espn.go.com. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
  5. ESPN (July 3, 2012). "Former Cedar Crest and current University of Virginia baseball star Derek Fisher competing in College Home Run Derby tonight | PennLive.com". Pennlive. Blog.pennlive.com. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
  6. Jeff Dewees (April 28, 2012). "Q&A: Derek Fisher, Univ. of Virginia baseball | PennLive.com". PennLive.com. Blog.pennlive.com. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
  7. "#38 Derek Fisher - Profile". pointstreak.com. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  8. Russ Charpentier (July 26, 2013). "Cape League Extra: Profile of Derek Fisher". capecodtimes.com. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  9. "Broken wrist sidelines Cedar Crest grad Derek Fisher - Lebanon Daily News". Ldnews.com. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
  10. Ramspacher, Andrew (April 24, 2014). "Fisher back in form for UVa-Florida State baseball - Roanoke Times: UVa Sports News". Roanoke.com. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
  11. Ramspacher, Andrew (March 12, 2014). "Virginia baseball team loses Fisher to wrist injury - Cavalier Insider: Cavalier Insider". Dailyprogress.com. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
  12. "UVa Starting Outfielder Derek Fisher Out 4-6 Weeks - NBC29 WVIR Charlottesville, VA News, Sports and Weather". Nbc29.com. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
  13. "Has Derek Fisher jumpstarted #1 UVa. baseball?". Augusta Free Press. April 29, 2014. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
  14. "Astros' draft pick Derek Fisher has full day after signing". Ultimate Astros. July 2014. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
  15. "Former Cedar Crest slugger Derek Fisher signs with Houston Astros: Report". PennLive.com. July 2, 2014. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
  16. Steve Batterson (April 8, 2015). "Fisher, Musgrove expect Bandits to continue their winning ways". The Quad-City Times. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
  17. Epler, Eric F. (May 31, 2015). "Houston Astros prospect Derek Fisher makes record-setting debut for High-A Lancaster". PennLive. Retrieved May 31, 2015.
  18. "Hooks' Fisher finds footing with perfect day".
  19. The Fresno Bee (August 7, 2016). "Grizzlies Report for Aug. 7: Fresno 3, El Paso 1". The Fresno Bee. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
  20. "Martes, Fisher lead Astros' spring invites".
  21. Bryant-Jon Anteola (April 8, 2017). "Astros prospect Derek Fisher excited to begin season with Triple-A Fresno Grizzlies". The Fresno Bee. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
  22. Kaplan, Jake (June 14, 2017). "Astros call up outfield prospect Derek Fisher". Houston Chronucle. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
  23. "Texas Rangers at Houston Astros Box Score, June 14, 2017 | Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved April 18, 2018.
  24. "Boston Red Sox at Houston Astros Box Score, June 16, 2017 | Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved April 18, 2018.
  25. "Fisher, Tucker, Alvarez Astros in Futures Game".
  26. McTaggart, Brian; Gurnick, Ken. "Houston Astros win 2017 World Series". MLB. Retrieved November 2, 2017.
  27. "Astros set 2018 Opening-Day roster". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  28. "Astros acquire Greinke, Biagini, Sanchez in multiple trades today". MLB.com. July 31, 2019.
  29. "Derek Fisher Stats, Fantasy & News | MLB.com". MLB.com.
  30. "Blue Jays sign David Phelps". MLB.com. February 12, 2021. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
  31. "Brewers acquire outfielder Derek Fisher from Blue Jays | AP News". Associated Press.
  32. "Brewers Outright Derek Fisher - MLB Trade Rumors".
  33. "Twins, Derek Fisher Agree To Minor League Deal".
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